HLA-DR11 and HLA-DR2 are negatively associated with autoantibody production in chronic hepatitis C

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is associated with immunological abnormality, including circulating immune complexes, production of autoantibodies, and concurrent autoimmune disorders.1,2 Both viral and host factors may contribute to the development of autoantibodies and rheumatological manifestations. In this study we investigated the production of autoantibodies in patients with HCV in order to determine a possible link between the polymorphic HLA-DRB1 allele(s) and autoantibody production in chronic HCV infection. We analysed HLA-DR polymorphisms in 288 HCV infected subjects in the Department of Internal Medicine, National Taiwan University Hospital. All patients were assayed for their serum autoantibodies with detection of antinuclear antibodies (ANA), rheumatoid factor (RF), antithyroid antibodies (antithyroglobulin (ATG) and antimicrosomal (AMG) antibodies), and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA). The HLA-DR polymorphisms were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and sequence-specific …